Silent Night
by Twilight Zephyr
Summary: It was a perfect Christmas, even without the magic and Santa Claus to leave presents under the tree. Marcus/Seth MARETH Slash


**Notes:** Written for a prompt at the Writer's Muse guild which I am a member of over at GaiaOnline.  
**Title:** Silent Night  
**Fandom:** _Twilight_ series  
**Pairing:** Marcus/Seth  
**Prompt:** Write a piece of literature somehow dealing with Saint Nicholas or his counterpart, Santa Claus.  
**Words:** 2607 words  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series and I never will. This is all Meyer's; I just borrow the characters to satisfy my muses for my own enjoyment and hopefully that of others. No money was made from this endeavor.

**Silent Night**

As a young boy, Seth had loved hearing the stories which his mother used to tell him about Santa Claus and his elves at the North Pole where he built toys for all the good little girls and boys; how he would travel the world and then deliver those toys as presents on Christmas Eve.

He'd always tried to stay up as late as possible so that he'd be able to spot Santa Claus coming down the chimney to deliver his and his sister's Christmas presents. Although, Seth had always fallen asleep before he could see the big red man come down the chimney with his bag full of goodies. So he'd gotten very used to waking up the next morning to find a stocking stuffed with various little toys and candy.

But it had only taken him a few years into his teenage years for the magic of Santa and his elves to wear off as the harsh reality of life started to settle in. Of course, the stockings were still put out and dutifully filled, but what Seth had experienced as a child – the magic of it all – was almost completely gone. He still enjoyed spending the holidays with his mother and sister though, along with all of his friends in La Push and Forks.

He hadn't chosen to leave Forks, rather, the decision had sort of been forced on him, but the bitterness and slight resentment had long since faded. Seth was a firm believer in making the best of whatever situation he happened to find himself in, and besides, he'd found that the Volturi weren't all bad.

Well, then again, his lover and _**mate **_was a vampire – one of the Volturi leaders to be specific – so his views on that matter were probably a little biased. He still didn't care, and it didn't change anything. And the Volturi were insanely wealthy, more so then even the Cullens, which meant that Seth was extremely well taken care of, especially since his status had improved quite a lot since he'd arrived there.

Marcus didn't know what Christmas was – he'd asked if Seth had meant Saint Nicholas' Day – and it was only after Seth had explained it to him, the vampire had understood and then almost automatically asked if he would like to return to La Push to visit his friends and family there. While that had been a very tempting option, Seth had ultimately decided that he would rather spend the holiday with Marcus wherever the vampire decided to go.

It would be both Marcus' first Christmas as well as Seth's first one away from home, from his friends and family. Although, he doubted that even if he had chosen to go home, that Marcus would have been able to spend the holiday with him. His mother wasn't very happy about vampires, and looking at her history with them it was no surprise. She wouldn't even think to allow Marcus, one of the Volturi who had taken her son from her, into her home, much less give him a warm and festive welcome.

No matter what he meant to her son, she wouldn't even consider it. Seth could expect nothing else from her, which was one reason why he'd chosen to remain with his vampire.

Leaving the planning up to Marcus and Heidi, Seth knew that he would have to expect something that would probably be very lavish and unnecessary. He didn't mind spending the time indoors – he'd never really been huge on much of the winter sports – and spending Christmas Eve curled up in front of a fireplace with Marcus sounded like heaven to him.

Heidi was very tight-lipped about the entire thing, only saying to him as she packed up his suitcase, "It's supposed to be a surprise, but you will thank me for this later. I promise you that."

Then she'd winked at him, shoved the bag at him, and started pushing him out the door and towards the entrance hall of the palace.

He hadn't been told where they were going, and Marcus was very secretive about the entire thing. Much like Heidi, he told Seth that it was a surprise and that he should be patient about finding out what it was that he'd been planning for weeks.

As it turned out, the 'surprise' was a stay in Paris.

Seth hadn't travelled anywhere outside of Seattle back in the States, and he had to admit that being Marcus' mate opened a lot of doors for him in terms of locations that he could visit if he wanted to. He was excited when they landed in Paris (they'd flown there since it was the easiest and fastest way to travel – even for vampires), and he could hardly wait to see where they'd be staying. Hell, he would take a shack out in the woods as long as he was with Marcus.

But that wasn't going to happen and Seth knew it. Heidi had worked her ass off to make sure that they had the best accommodations that money could afford. The condo was in an incredibly affluent part of the city, and within a good distance of many of the landmarks of the city – and it was in fact within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower. Seth was looking forward to exploring them with Marcus, since he'd get the history of all of them in such a way that made it seem as though he'd actually been there.

There were definitely advantages to having an incredibly ancient vampire as a mate.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

It was chilly and cloudy the next day, and to avoid suspicion of the humans who would be flooding the sidewalks, Seth had donned some light but warm winter wear. He'd pulled out one of the coats which Heidi had bought him – black and made of a heavy, felt-like material – along with matching ear muffs and a pair of wool-lined, black leather gloves. Underneath that he was wearing a simple dark grey tee, along with his now favourite pair of extremely dark grey skinny jeans – Heidi loved them just like Alice, and Marcus always gave him appreciative glances in them, so he'd figured what the hell, why not? – along with the black leather boots which Alice had given him as a going away present.

On the other hand, Marcus had simply donned a very simpler jacket, only his lacked the high collar which Seth's had, and had instead a much more... old-style coat which went exceedingly well with his usual outfit that he rarely deviated from except in color really. It looked a lot like a suit jacket, but was made of a heavier material.

Underneath that he wore a dark, royal blue collared shirt with his usual black tuxedo vest and a black cravat. He also wore black loose yet still surprisingly well-fitting trousers with black leather boots. Unlike Seth, he'd pulled his pants over his boots.

"It was constructed between the years 1887 and 1889," Marcus was saying as they huddled against the railing of the third floor. "Built as the entrance arch for the World's Fair which marked the centennial of the French Revolution and was designed by Gustave Eiffel, for which it is named."

Seth peered over the edge of the railing despite the wind, looking down at the people below who more resembled ants then they did people. He shot a glance and a small smile at Marcus to indicate that he was listening and that the vampire should continue to talk.

Marcus paused, moving just a little closer to his smaller lover, "After the First Battle of the Marne, in which it was used as a communications tower, it became a symbol of that victory."

"The view from up here is really stunning, I feel like I can see all of Paris from here," Seth remarked as a silence fell between the two of them.

"It used to be the tallest building in the world, until the Chrysler Building was completed in 1930 in the city of New York."

"I can believe that." Seth stepped back from the railing and closer to Marcus, letting his head rest against the vampire's shoulder. He didn't mind in the least that the vampire had quite a few inches on him, it meant that he didn't have to lean down and that was always a good thing. Plus, he fit to Marcus' body like a glove and that would have been impossible if he was taller.

The two of them stood there looking out onto the skyline of Paris and admiring the sights of it all. For Christmas Eve, it really was quite a sight, and it was one that Seth would remember for a very long time.

"Do you want to return?" Marcus asked, suddenly feeling just a twinge of nervousness. He'd been planning on what to give Seth for a long while, and he had it with him. But if the young man wanted to return to their condo, then he would simply wait and bide his time until midnight – which wasn't too far off – to give it to him.

"No, I'd like to stay out here a little while longer, if that's okay."

"That is acceptable." Marcus smiled, his arm coming out to wrap around Seth's waist and pull him tighter to his side. He was suddenly very glad that they had the entire floor to themselves; not many people wanted to brave the cold temperatures and wind chill. It was a good thing that neither himself or Seth were human; they could withstand the cold.

Several long moments passed in a comfortable silence.

In the distance, Marcus could hear the bells of Notre Dame chiming out the midnight hour, he could also make out the faint strains of 'O Holy Night' echoing up from the streets below. He took a deep breath, running over his plan in his mind yet again. The nervousness still crept into him, despite the fact that he'd rehearsed the so many times and knew exactly what it was that he wanted to say.

It was just a matter of saying it.

Gently, he pulled away from Seth, ignoring the young man's noise of protest. Neither of them had talked about commitment or anything really permanent, despite the very nature of their relationship making it impossible for either of them to ever want or desire someone else. But the idea of actually making it more official – although it was technically already since Aro recognized it – hadn't been brought up at all.

Taking a deep breath, Marcus held up his hand to signal Seth not to interrupt him, and began.

"I know that the matter of...whether we should or shouldn't make this more official then it already is has never been brought up, but I would like to make it very clear – to you and the entire world – that I will never leave you, that you are the only one that I want here and now and into the very long distance of my future; a future that I would very much like to share with you."

"Marcus, you know –"

"While you may technically hold the position of a Volturi 'wife'," he noted how Seth's face turned into a frown at the reminder that the position he held was normally held by a female, "but officially, you wouldn't even be recognized as a member of our coven."

Reaching into his pocket, Marcus pulled out the plain black box which he'd been carrying around for quite some time – unadorned except for the complex red bow attached to its lid – and took a deep breath before gracefully falling to his knees in front of Seth. He looked up at his young lover, noting the look of shock on his face along with how he'd clapped a gloved hand over his mouth to keep from saying something.

Or it could have been the shock and disbelief at what he believed that Marcus was doing.

"While marriage might not hold the same significance for my kind as it does for yours and for humans, I would still like nothing more then for you to carry some physical, tangible, sign that you belong to me."

He held the box out to Seth, waiting as the wolf shakily extended his hand and took it from him, trembling as he lifted the lid.

Inside of the box was a plain black leather band with a fastner on one side. On the other side was a carved crest which Seth knew very well.

It was the Volturi's crest, one which only members of the coven were allowed to wear, and this one in particular had the signature border which adorned the one which Marcus owned although he rarely wore it. The design of the entire thing reminded Seth vaguely of the ones which all of the males of the Cullen family wore.

"What...?"

Okay, so Seth had been a little duped into believing that this was all going to wind up with Marcus proposing to him or something even though he knew that was out of the question. While vampires did believe in monogamy with their mates, they didn't all adhere to the human sentiment that marriage was the way to go about ensuring the loyalty and such of the relationship. Most vampires just proclaimed that the other was their mate sometimes with some flowery language, and that was it.

But he should have expected something like this from Marcus.

"I'm not asking you for the world," Marcus spoke softly when Seth looked to him, confusion written all over his face and yet there was determination in his chocolate eyes. "All I ask is this: will you do me the honor of officially becoming my consort?"

_Consort_. It was a whole new title which Marcus had debated over since he'd first taken Seth as his lover and realized that he was his mate. The title of 'wife' wouldn't exactly work since Seth obviously lacked the necessary parts seeing as he was most definitely male. Eventually, he'd settled on the title of consort since it was rather gender neutral.

Marcus waited anxiously for a response, if he had a heart which beat, it would have been hammering wildly at that moment and he would have been sweating. But since he was dead and had been for centuries, he merely felt an overwhelming sense of nervousness.

"... Yes."

Seth's voice came out sounding oddly rough and weak, but the young wolf blushed before clearing his throat and responding, still with a soft voice, "You know that I'd love to."

That made Marcus' face light up in a huge smile – and Seth would later swear that he'd never seen the vampire look so happy – and he surged upwards, capturing Seth's lips in a deep and passionate kiss as he pressed him up against the railing behind them.

Seth froze for a few seconds, shocked by how forward his lover was being, and then he found a few brain cells were still working and he pressed back against the vampire with just as much force. He threw his arms around his neck and pulled him down so that he didn't have to strain his neck so much to kiss him.

All in all, it was a perfect Christmas, even without the magic.

**FIN.**

As always, I ask that you leave a review if you enjoyed this fic or if you decided to favorite it. Oh, and if you liked this pairing, then go check out _Complexity_! I sort of placed this fic in the same universe, although it doesn't really happen in the flow of the story; I just didn't have the time nor energy to put together a coherent AU.

Thank you all and Merry Christmas! (or Happy Holidays, whichever you prefer.)

Twilight.


End file.
